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Project documents area’s early residents

Jason and Kate Ahrens live on Dufferin St. and participate in a historical project that identifies the people who first lived in the old homes in London’s Old East Village. (MIKE HENSEN, The London Free Press)

History class is in session seven days a week in London’s Old East Village.

Neighbourhood residents are digging into their homes’ past and revealing the findings for all to see.

More than 100 signs displaying the date the house was built, the original owner’s name and occupation have popped up on homes in the neighbourhood.

Among jobs held by the area’s early residents, according to the signs: Conductor, clerk, attendant at insane asylum, widower.

And wherever the signs are, conversation follows.

It’s not unusual for pedestrians to stop and read the signs, as homeowners chat about history with neighbours and strangers alike.

“It’s a conversation piece, for sure,” said Jennifer Diplock. president of the Old East Village Community Association, the organization responsible for introducing the initiative.

On a stretch of Dufferin Ave. between Ontario and English streets, the majority of homes display the signs.

Kate Ahrens enjoys going for walks with her husband and three kids through the neighbourhood to learn about the area’s history.

“Certainly it’s been a lot of fun with the kids. We walk around and see how many signs we can count — what’s the oldest one, what are some of the neat, different jobs that people did,” Ahrens said.

Before moving to Dufferin, the couple made a sign for their former house on Elias St. They went to the Central Library’s London Room, where a librarian helped them research the home’s history using old city directories.

It turns out the first owner worked at the Globe Casket Company, “which we thought was pretty cool,” said Ahrens, whose Dufferin house came with a sign saying it was built by a clerk in 1915.

Print Studio on Dundas St. makes the aluminum signs for about $20.

Diplock said the signs have another popular use.

“We know a lot of people use it as a house-warming gift,” she said. “It’s not unusual for residents to give one of the signs to a neighbour who’s recently moved onto the street.”